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WORLD NEWSFriday 3 June 2016

Louvre, Orsay museums close as Seine overflows in ParisÂ

Residents evacuate their home in Nemours, 50 miles south of Paris, Thursday, June 2, 2016. Floods anonymity in line with the in central France, includ-
inundating parts of France and Germany have left five people reported dead and thousands museum’s policy. ing Paris, were facing flood
trapped in homes or cars, as rivers have broken their banks from Paris to Bavaria. The Louvre did move art warnings as well.
to higher floors in the flood Fara Pelarek, 44-year-old
(AP Photo/Francois Mori) that devastated Paris in Australian tourist visiting
1910, but authorities were Paris, said she was “very
ANGELA CHARLTON about noon. Paris police Lisa,” is staying put on an still checking to see if simi- surprised” to see the Seine
SYLVIE CORBET upgraded their flood warn- upper floor. lar actions had been taken so high. “I remember walk-
Associated Press ing Thursday to “orange” The Orsay museum, on the from then to 1993. ing down below (before)
PARIS (AP) — The rising wa- — the second-highest level left bank of the Seine, will About 200,000 artworks are and it was very easy,” she
ters of the Seine overflowed — for areas near the Seine, also be closed Friday to located in flood-risk areas, said. “In a way, it’s kind of
riverbanks, roads and rail which means they believe prepare for potential flood- mostly in storerooms. nature taking over.”
tracks across Paris on Thurs- the floods could have “a ing. European rivers have burst For the second day, emer-
day, forcing authorities at significant impact” on A spokeswoman at the their banks this week from gency workers evacuated
the Louvre to do something buildings and people. Louvre said museum had Paris to the southern Ger- residents in Nemours, 80
they have not done in gen- The Louvre Museum an- not taken such precautions man state of Bavaria, killing kilometers (50 miles) south
erations: hurriedly move nounced it will be closed in its modern history — since six people, trapping thou- of Paris, the hardest-hit site
precious artworks to higher Friday to remove artworks its 1993 renovation. Some sands and forcing every- in France. Areas along the
ground. from rooms threatened by underground storerooms thing from subway lines to Loing River, a tributary of
Water levels at the famous the rising waters, preventa- created during the renova- castles to museums to shut the Seine, were facing wa-
river that winds through the tively shifting them upstairs. tion are particularly vulner- down. ter levels unseen since the
French capital are expect- Its most famous painting, able to flood risks. Tourist boat cruises in Paris 1910 floods. The situation
ed to peak Friday sometime Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona She spoke on condition of have been cancelled and improved somewhat late
roads in and around the Thursday, yet about 21,000
French capital are under homes were still without
water. A suburban train electricity.
line that runs alongside In the Loire valley in cen-
the Seine in central Paris, tral France, the renowned
serving popular tourist sites castles of Chambord
like the Eiffel Tower, the In- and Azay-le-Rideau were
valides plaza and the Orsay closed because of floods in
museum, was shut down. their parks.
Days of heavy rains have Those killed amid the del-
caused exceptional delays uge include an 86-year-old
to the French Open tennis woman who died in her
tournament and may force flooded home in Souppes-
it into a third week. sur-Loing, southeast of Par-
France’s meteorological is. In southern Germany,
service said Thursday that five people were killed as
severe flood watches re- floods swept Wednesday
mained in effect in one through the towns of Sim-
Paris-area region: Seine-et- bach am Inn and Triftern
Marne. Nine more regions near the Austrian border.q

Power blackout as French workers strike over labor billÂ

ANGELA CHARLTON French labor protections. 35-hour workweek and electricity, voted for a one- Service was restored to
NICOLAS GARRIGA Strikes on the national rail making it easier to hire and day strike Thursday. most homes by early af-
Associated Press service and at most French fire workers. Some unions Nuclear plants are required ternoon, RTE said in a
PARIS (AP) — Striking work- nuclear plants added to are threatening to keep up to maintain a minimal level statement, adding that it
ers created blackouts by troubles for travelers and labor action through the of production even during “deplores and condemns
cutting power to a big elec- residents suffering from start of Europe’s top sport- strikes for security reasons. these actions, contrary to
tricity line in western France floods after days of unusu- ing event next week, the But workers in Brittany cut its mission of public ser-
and occupied train tracks ally heavy rains. Workers European Championship the electricity supply from a vice.” Protesters also briefly
at a Paris railway hub Thurs- have sector-specific de- soccer tournament. power station in Saint-Ma- walked onto train tracks at
day, as union members mands, but are also tap- Members of the CGT union lo-de-Guersac, prompting the Gare de Lyon station
staged protests around the ping into months of wide- at 16 of France’s 19 nuclear blackouts in some 125,000 in eastern Paris, delaying
country to protest the pro- spread anger at a gov- plants, which provide the homes, according to the traffic, and union members
posed abolition of some ernment bill extending the majority of the country’s RTE electricity network. marched through Paris on
Thursday afternoon.q